February 01, 2014

Indonesia: Now 16 dead from Sinabung eruption

The death toll from an Indonesian volcano that has been rumbling for months rose to 16 Sunday after rescuers found another charred corpse and a critically injured college student died in a hospital, officials said.

Mount Sinabung erupted again Saturday just a day after authorities allowed thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to return to its slopes, saying volcanice activity was decreasing. Rescuers found 14 bodies and rescued three people with burn wounds, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Rescue efforts resumed Sunday and rescuers found another body about three kilometers (two miles) from the volcano’s peak, said Lt. Col. Asep Sukarna, who led the operation. Another resident, a 24-year-old college student died in an intensive care unit, said an official at the Efarina Etaham hospital.

Among the dead were a local television journalist and four high-school students and their teacher who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, Nugroho said. At least three other people were injured and authorities fear the death toll will rise.

Comments

The death toll from an Indonesian volcano that has been rumbling for months rose to 16 Sunday after rescuers found another charred corpse and a critically injured college student died in a hospital, officials said.

Mount Sinabung erupted again Saturday just a day after authorities allowed thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to return to its slopes, saying volcanice activity was decreasing. Rescuers found 14 bodies and rescued three people with burn wounds, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Rescue efforts resumed Sunday and rescuers found another body about three kilometers (two miles) from the volcano’s peak, said Lt. Col. Asep Sukarna, who led the operation. Another resident, a 24-year-old college student died in an intensive care unit, said an official at the Efarina Etaham hospital.

Among the dead were a local television journalist and four high-school students and their teacher who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, Nugroho said. At least three other people were injured and authorities fear the death toll will rise.